Hey everyone! It’s been awhile, but I’m finally ready to reopen my shop on society6.com: Sifa+Graphic Design. I took a pretty long hiatus from the shop because I wasn’t feeling inspired to make design for product production, but it’s a new year and I’m looking to expand my market....and wallet, but mostly my market. In the spirit of the reopen, I’ve wiped out all of the merchandise in order to start fresh with new work. Inventory is still a bit small, but will be growing steadily so keep a look out.

I’ll be promoting new products and work on my instagram and Facebook pages. If you have any suggestions or types of designs you’d like to see, please message me online and let me know what you’re thinking!

Deprivation is a local cross fit gym in Columbus, GA. This is their 5th annual of their Doomsday event, a day of intense workout challenges and fun. This year, the team wanted the event to be bigger and better and needed a tee and tank design to match for the event, the athletes and staff. The theme needed to represent the intensity of the event and the powerful men and women participating. Sounds like superheroes to me...

Why'll this first design was definitely intense and poster ready. The design didn't really d demonstrate the power of the men and women athletes participating. So it was time to hit the sketchbook and do something a little more custom.

First thing was taking inspiration from dynamic comic posters featuring three of the most diverse and power-packed superheroes in the game. Sketching and inking was done using the Sketchbook Pro program.

This final product was loved by the client and their participants. We ended up with a beautiful and intense design, perfect for any athlete looking to destroy their obstacles.

My cousin Tia Banks is slayin' with new blog "Always in the Picture". So of course I had to make sure her logo was doin' it right. Check out https://alwaysinthepicture.com/ for tips on fashion beauty and lifestyle.

Homage, an inspired gifts and jewelry store in Pasadena, was looking for a postcard to promote their Dia de Los Muertos photo memorial event. They wanted something eyecatching while still keeping true to their contemporary and modern style. They loved the design so much that they commissioned a poster design to match. Did I mention this was a 99designs contest winner?!

So with the holiday coming up I wanted to give a go at drawing something that I've intrigued by for awhile. Sugar Skulls. I love the meaning and festivities of Dia de los Muertos and especially love the wide variety of designs that come with sugar skulls and I wanted to throw my own spin on things.

With that said, my first go at this design did not turn out the way I wanted, but I thought I should still post. Hopefully round 2 will be MUCH better. #diadelosmuertos #sugarskull #drawing #colorpencil

These Pack 373 shirts are my first freelance job in this new city! It never gets old seeing a design go from a bunch of data on a computer to real world product and these came out great! Atlanta Shirt Shop did a amazing job printing these!

HeyGurl Studios on Etsy now has business card templates available! Now you can choose from a growing selection of templates or let me design a custom business card unique to you! With the templates choose between receiving original, easy to use files or let me customize them for you! Stop by HeyGurl Studios on Etsy to get your business card design today.

Visit the PRINT SHOP to grab your "Heavy is the Head" Tshirt before they're all gone! Sizes for both men and women available. Perfect for the King or Queen making noise and shaking up the game in their own way!

If you're just graduating from college, you now have two things: one, the most expensive piece of paper in the states and two, a mega urge to get started in your respective field and find yourself a job. Unless you've made a deal with the art gods, it's not going to happen the very next day or maybe even the month after (my time in purgatory lasted a full year, so no shame in the wait). During your time in purgatory, while you're job searching like a boss, your portfolio is going to start feeling the effects of time and the lack of a professor giving you a project every week. It's going to look get stale and fast.

There is nothing quite discouraging to an employer than looking through your portfolio and seeing that your most recent work is from a month or more ago after you graduated. It's the equivalent of writing a note that says "my best work is back in college". Employers want to see that even between jobs you're staying proactive in keeping your portfolio and your skills fresh. It shows that you're an independent worker, that you're resourceful and that you're passionate about your craft. In this post you'll discover tips for keeping your portfolio up to date in between jobs and/or projects so that your skills are sharp and fresh when the employers start looking into your portfolio.

1. Role-Playing Keeps it Sexy

Sometimes to keep your portfolio fresh, you need to be a little creative, which should come easy to you creative geniuses. One of the most successful methods for keeping my portfolio fresh (and therefore sexy) is by creating a customer and brand to design for. I would sit down, create a business in a specific market, anything from Chinese restaurants to a cafe/bookstore and create an entire brand that would be unique to that business I focused a lot on logo design because that was a skill I really wanted to sharpen (this would also be a great way to touch up those skills you're not confident in). The process forced me to imagine the visual needs for different businesses and research the trends used in branding them. So not only did I get another addition to my portfolio (logo design, business cards, flyer, etc.) but I also broadened my horizons as far as my customer base.

This method is perfect for less commercial creative fields such as photography and film in which it's the same as creating an independent project, just for the sake of it. It's all about creating prompts for yourself and executing them from start to finish. Document 24 hours of yours or another's day to day, illustrate a social issue that interests you, or challenge yourself with doing something creative every day for a month. These projects don't need to span a lifetime between each other (mixing it up time wise is good exercise), but it's important that once you start something, that you finish it. If you're really in a slump and can't think of a prompt to get yourself started I'd do an old fashion Pinterest binge to get some creative inspiration and you can find some great creative monthly challenges there too.

2. Back to Basics: Freelancing

In our last post we spoke on the best ways to freelance between jobs {Click here to refresh your memory} and what better way to prep your portfolio for the long term job than to take on smaller jobs and pick up some side cash on the way. Even taking a couple of projects pro-Bono from some close family member and friends isn't the worst idea either. Remember the goal is to stuff that portfolio and stay up to date.

A logo design that I created from an imaginary restaurant (far left), a logo design I won from a contest on 99design (center), and a logo I did pro-Bono for my mother's spiritual art business (right)

If you can't pick up any freelance work around town or in your own home, then hit the internet. Websites like DesignCrowd and 99designs are great sites for graphic designers where businesses post design contests that they need and are willing to pay a prize for. You just read the brief, post a design and then the customer chooses their favorite from the submissions and pays for the rights to the design (everything from logo designs to invitations to book covers). Even if you don't win the bid, the design you used can still be a nice addition to your portfolio (just make sure you make it clear to future employer that those projects didn't go all the way through). Another option are books that have challenges and creative advice on how to keep your mind creative and working.

3. Turn something Old into something New

Sometimes the best way to create new things is to dig back into the archive and get vintage. There's always some project you can think back to that you weren't happy with, but you never had a chance to make changes or finish it. Here's you chance to take another swing and get it right this time. Take an old project and turn it into something modern and new. A twist to this method is that you can also take vintage projects from a past decade and revamp it. A good example would be old magazine advertisements or projects from your favorite past artists. It takes a real leap of creativity to take something that's already been conceptualized and twist it in a new way to make it your own, but if you pull it off then you've got something special going on. So dig into that shame box of old artwork and get busy!

*An inside tip on your portfolio. If you can help it, instead of sending a PDF portfolio or CD to perspective jobs, direct them to your online portfolio (oh and get yourself and online portfolio). Adding new work to your online portfolio is much easier than adding physical work to a book, so you can assure that you're freshest work is up front and center among your work. This will also give you more time to add those physical pieces to your book before showing it to employers in person.

Thanks for taking the time to read through the blog post. I hope there was something in here that helped you out or give you a spark of inspiration. Good Luck! Stay unique, stay focused and stay creative.

As a creative professional, at some point in your career, you are going to do some freelancing. Whether you are working towards a degree, in limbo waiting for a job offer or just in the process of deciding what the next step in your career is, freelancing is an excellent way to keep your skills sharp, your portfolio growing and money in your pocket. Going out and contracting your own jobs can seem like an intimidating task especially at the beginning, but in all freelancing can be rewarding and profitable if you make the right moves. Here are some tips on where to get started:

1. Walk Before You Run

When it comes to freelancing, going big too soon can have its own consequences. The best place to start is in your own circle of contacts, people you know and/or work with. Ask your family and friends they need or know someone who needs work done whether it be a photographer for a birthday/event, a commissioned painting or graphic design work for their business. Your inner circle are not only your biggest supporters, they're also your biggest promoters.

"I can't stress enough the importance of knowing people....probably 90% of the freelance work I've done including recurring jobs, one of which I will have had for 2 years this fall, was from someone in my family or from a family friend." -Ethan Bierly, Graphic Artist at Impact Advertising and Freelance Graphic Artist for the Chesapeake Chorale and S-Squared Alchemy in Minnesota.

Starting small when you're just starting out is a great way to build your reputation and a great way to create a base clientele. This is also a perfect time to develop your brand and ways to further promote yourself.

2. Branding: Who Are You Again?

Branding identity is important in any business, but our career path is all about the visuals and incoming clients are going to trust what they can see first before they take your word for anything, trust me. You want to create an identity for yourself that looks professional and draws eyes towards your work and skills.The basics of branding identity are the logo, business cards, website and social media.

For a serious freelancer combining all of these elements creates a representation that's attacking on all fronts. We'll go into more detail on each level of branding in a future post. For now, just know that the goal of branding for a freelancer is to create an identity for yourself that is easy for customers to understand what you can do for them, but unique enough to set you apart from the others.

3. When hitting the pavement, use a sledgehammer.

Freelancing isn't a game played from your laptop, you're going to have to get out there, get a little dirty and do it with a smile. When I first started freelancing, I literally walked up and down the main business district in my town, walked into the different shops and just introduced myself as a graphic designer and what I thought I could provide to their business. I got a lot of kind rejections (which was a hit to the feels) and the day was exhausting, but at the end of the day I had a job to do the promotional design and printing for a women's conference and more importantly I was able to hand out business cards to each business so I was at least on their radar for future jobs. The only way to win in freelancing is set yourself apart from the rest and nothing is more unique than that brilliant personality of yours, so use your weapon.

"While art and graphics are obviously the important visuals details for setting yourself apart in the field, personality and character contribute to the rest. Bringing great ideas, being easy to work with, having an open schedule and asking the right questions can instill an employers confidence in your work ethic..." - Kelly Ciesla, Pre-Press Graphic Artist at CCL Label.

The honest truth is that as a freelancer, you're going to have to work a lot harder than normal to get and keep a client. Even if you have the best portfolio out there there's still a leap of faith on their end that you can provide what they're looking for without wasting time and money they could have used on a larger, more established company. So make sure to set yourself apart with incredible customer service and a personal touch they just won't get with those big businesses. Sometimes this may mean a little sacrifice on your end in the beginning, such as lowering your price a little to stay competitive, going the extra mile to be accommodating and cater to the clients needs. Being just a little psychic and anticipating those that the client may not have thought of is a major plus too.

4. Network: Like A Boss

Networking is a very intricate dance of back and forth between businesses both big and small. Networking happens where your business cards and a receptive ear are from an intimate dinner to large business card exchange events. The right way to network is to one, always promote your service and two, always be receptive to the services of other businesses and hopefully the conversation will lead to either a future client or a mutually beneficial relationship where you are recommending the other's services to your own clients. Having a working relationship with other businesses and freelancers in different fields is especially important because it can give you an "in" on new categories of future clients that you would never have had access to before. Keep your networking circle diverse, growing and remember to promote other businesses in return, because supportive relationships bear more fruit. And you never know, one of those networks could lead to a full time job. Great places to network are events with vendors like flea markets, fairs or just the local small businesses in your area (the best promoters of small businesses are other small businesses).

5. Stay Laser Focused

Freelancing is hard and tedious work no matter what field you're pursuing, that's just the tough reality. But the fact that you've made it through this much of this blog tells me you're pretty determined to make this work so always remember that whether freelancing becomes your permanent day to day or if this just a temporary stop to something bigger, you ARE going to be a better creative and a better YOU once you get through this early stage. Stay update on the latest trends and techniques, keep your portfolio updated even when you don't have a job, and research other artists and learn from their experiences (check). Keep in mind, what your goals are and stay focused. It's going to be easy to get discouraged when things don't immediately kick off, I've been there, but the difference between a successful freelancer and not is how much work, time and effort you are willing to dedicate to your craft.

Thanks to Megan Brad, Kelly Ciesla and Ethan Bierly for their input and contribution to this article. We hope you stay unique, stay focused, and stay creative.

{Challenge} Design a typeface that will be composed from elements in the world around you. Assemble your 26 characters alphabet using only found objects or environments. Letters may be documented through collage, photography, photocopying, digital illustration and other appropriate mediums. {120 minutes}

Sooo this challenge was hella harder than the title leads you to believe. At first when you read it you think "Done! I've got this.", but if you're as manic as I am you start to realize there are an infinite amount of ways to do this project and just how terrifying that is. The challenge says to only take 120 minutes but with work, going back and forth on design and overall life, this took a good month to accomplish! Well I should say it took a month to sit down and get it done and about two days to actually finish it.

When I finally DID decide on a concept I went a bit out of the guidelines, because of doing these challenges was to boost my creativity as a graphic designer so it only seemed right to do this in that medium. (If you decide to take this challenge too, I definitely encourage you to do it in a medium that you really want to explore). I decided to take the letters and match them to watercolor illustrations (because watercolor is life) of things that they start with. The hardest part was running through my vocabulary for images to use. I didn't want to use the first objects that came to mind i.e A for apple and B for boat, so I ran through multiple possibilities and really challenged my brain for objects that could be easily illustrated, but still not the so basic. With that said there were a lot of images that I either had to bite the bullet and go basic with either because I couldn't find matching images that I was happy, or for some there were just images that I wanted over others and for a lot there just wasn't a lot of images available. Z and X for example were rough!

All in all I'm very happy with the results. I created something that is unique to my medium and what I like, its interesting and vibrant which you can't go wrong with (color is also life). This was definitely a creative challenge for my vocabulary and in finding the best ways to format and display the letters and images so that BOTH are highlighted. There was a lot of manipulations with the pen tool and pathfinder that had to be done in the process and if anything I got really acquainted with the Pen tool and Pathfinder. After everything is said and done I'm happy I was finally able to do this change and even happier that I able to finish it. Give it a try and see what amazing things you come up with.

Hey Gurl Studios is getting all fluffy inside, with its line of Valentine's Day Cards. Introducing Hey Valentine!

Looking for something unique to give your special other(s) this Valentine's Day? Look no further than the Hey Valentine line of custom greeting cards, featuring fun, flirty, and totally adorable designs and inscriptions perfect for both friends and lovers.

This card is sized 4.25 x 5.5 when folded, making it the perfect size to hand out personally or mail out to that long distance love. Visit Hey Gurl Studios to either buy the cards individually or to buy your own 3 card pack!

This Valentine's Day, don't pick up a generic card from the store. Pick up a fun and fresh greeting card from Hey Gurl Studios and spread the love!

When you want to turnout an amazing party or event that they'll be talking about next week, you need a flyer that'll stand out above the others. A party flyer is the appetizer to a main course of what should be an epic event. so serve up some serious promotion and really draw in a crowd with an amazing flyer design that's sure to turn heads and get the party started!